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1976
This is a list of various things that took place in 1976. Significant events April :* 26 - During a televised show from New York City's Madison Square Garden, WWWF Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino sustains a (legit) broken neck after his opponent, Stan Hansen, bodyslammed him to the mat, forcing him to miss two months of ring action. To explain the injury and create interest in a rematch, a storyline was written that Hansen hit Sammartino in the neck with a loaded elbowpad while executing his lariat. Sammartino later gained revenge over Hansen in two rematches: the Showdown At Shea event in late June, and a steel cage match at MSG in August June :* 1 - Muhammad Ali is a guest celebrity during a WWWF television taping at the Philadelphia Arena. Minutes after he is introduced to the crowd, Ali enters the ring during a match between Gorilla Monsoon and "Baron" Mikel Scicluna and challenges Monsoon to a fight. Monsoon responds by giving Ali - one of the world's greatest and most feared boxers - an airplane spin and dropping him to the mat. Ali is led away from the ring, while Monsoon tells interviewer Vince McMahon, Jr. that while he respected Ali as a great boxer, he was a lousy wrestler who "didn't know a wristlock from a wristwatch." The confrontation is used to help build interest in Ali's Showdown At Shea "boxer vs. wrestler" match against Antonio Inoki. For the rest of Monsoon's life, he would never reveal whether the confrontation -- which gained substantial mainstream media coverage -- was legit or a work, and no reference is made to their earlier confrontation at the first WrestleMania (where Monsoon was the lead commentator and Ali was a guest referee for the main event) :* 25 - The WWWF's second Showdown at Shea supercard event is held at New York City's Shea Stadium. The Muhammad Ali-Antonio Inoki match takes place in Tokyo, Japan and is aired on closed-circuit television, as part of the event (and was also aired on closed-circuit as part of several non-WWWF events held that same day, particularly the American Wrestling Association's Chicago Stadium show in Chicago) Births April :*16 - Phil Baroni (in Long Island, New York) July :*16 - Bobby Lashley (in Junction City, Kansas) September :*26 - Olivia O'Lovely (in Santa Fe, New Mexico) November :*23 - Kristina Laum (in Seoul, Korea) Deaths Debuts Events June :*25 – Ali vs. Inoki (Televised event) :*25 – AWA Chicago Stadium (Televised event) :*25 – WWWF Showdown At Shea July :*17 – Superdome Extravaganza August :*27 – AWA Comiskey Park Title changes January :*5 - Don Leo Jonathan wins the NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Championship from Gene Kiniski in Vancouver, British Columbia :*12 - Dean Higuchi and George Wells win the NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship from Dale Lewis and Siegfried Steinke in Vancouver :*17 - Jesse Ventura wins the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship from Jimmy Snuka in Portland, Oregon :*27 - Rufus R. Jones and Wahoo McDaniel win the Mid-Atlantic version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship from the Minnesota Wrecking Crew (Gene and Ole Anderson) in Columbia, South Carolina :*30 - Dusty Rhodes wins the NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship from The Spolier in Atlanta, Georgia February :*3 - The Minnesota Wrecking Crew regain the NWA Mid-Atlantic World Tag Team title from Rufus R. Jones and Wahoo McDaniel in Raleigh, North Carolina :*4 - Thunderbolt Patterson wins the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship from Bruiser Brody in Miami, Florida :*6 - The Spoiler regains the NWA Georgia title from Dusty Rhodes in Atlanta :*9 - Gene Kiniski and Siegfried Steinke win the NWA Canadian Tag Team title from Dean Higuchi and George Welles in Vancouver March :*8 - Kinji Shibuya wins the NWA Pacific Coast title from Don Leo Jonathan in Vancouver :*13 - Blackjack Mulligan wins the Mid-Atlantic version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship from Paul Jones in Greensboro, North Carolina :*17 - Pak Song wins the NWA Florida title from Thunderbolt Patterson in Miami :*29 - Serge Dumont defeats Johnny Rougeau to become the first Canadian International Heavyweight Champion in Montreal, Quebec April :*3 - Dutch Savage wins the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Jesse Ventura in Portland :*12 - Don Leo Jonathan and Jimmy Snuka win the NWA Canadian Tag Team title from Gene Kiniski and Siegfried Steinke in Vancouver :*13 - The Assassin wins the NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Championship from Billy Robinson in Tampa, Florida :*17 - Jack Brisco wins the NWA Florida title from Pak Song in St. Petersburg, Florida May :*1 - The Masked Stranger wins the WWA World Heavyweight Championship from Pepper Gomez in Indianapolis, Indiana :*3 - Wahoo McDaniel wins the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship from Ric Flair in Charlotte, North Carolina :*4 - Dusty Rhodes wins the NWA Florida Southern title from The Assassin in Tampa :*5 - Dino Bravo and Mr. Wrestling win the NWA Mid-Atlantic World Tag Team title from the Minnesota Wrecking Crew in Raleigh :*11 - The Executioners (Killer Kowalski and Big John Studd wearing masks) win the WWWF Tag Team Championship from Louis Cerdan and Tony Parisi in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania :*17 - John Quinn and Kinji Shibuya win the NWA Canadian Tag Team title from Don Leo Jonathan and Jimmy Snuka in Vancouver :*24 - Ric Flair regains the NWA Mid-Atlantic title from Wahoo McDaniel in Charlotte :*25 - Bob Orton Jr. wins the NWA Florida title from Jack Brisco in Tampa June :*8 - The Assassin regains the NWA Florida Southern title from Dusty Rhodes in Tampa :*26 - Jesse Ventura regains the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Dutch Savage :*28 - The Minnesota Wrecking Crew regain the NWA Mid-Atlantic World Tag Team title from Dino Bravo and Mr. Wrestling in Greenville, South Carolina July :*12 - John Tolos wins the NWA Pacific Coast title from Kinji Shibuya in Vancouver :*16 - Stan Stasiak wins the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Pepper Martin :*23 - Bobby Duncum and Blackjack Lanza win the AWA World Tag Team Championship from Dick the Bruiser and The Crusher in Chicago, Illinois :*27 - Dusty Rhodes wins the NWA Florida title from Bob Orton Jr. in Tampa August :*3 - Billy Two Rivers wins the Canadian International title from Serge Dumont in Montreal :*9 - John Quinn wins the NWA Pacific Coast title from John Tolos in Vancouver :*20 - Dick Slater wins the NWA Georgia title from The Spoiler in Atlanta September :*11 - Wahoo McDaniel regains the NWA Mid-Atlantic title from Ric Flair in Greenville October :*4 - John Anson and Don Leo Jonathan win the NWA Canadian Tag Team title from John Quinn and Kinji Shibuya in Vancouver :*16 - Paul Jones regains the NWA Mid-Atlantic United States title from Blackjack Mulligan in Greensboro; Ric Flair regains the NWA Mid-Atlantic title from Wahoo McDaniel in Greensboro :*26 - Mr. Wrestling II wins the NWA Georgia title from Dick Slater in Columbus, Georgia :*28 - John Quinn and Kurt Von Hess win the NWA Canadian Tag Team title from John Anson and Don Leo Jonathan in Vancouver :*30 - Steve Keirn wins the NWA Florida Southern title from The Assassin in St. Petersburg November :*19 - Thunderbolt Patterson wins the Toronto version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship from The Sheik in Toronto, Ontario :*25 - Dick Slater regains the NWA Georgia title from Mr. Wrestling II in Columbus, Georgia :*26 - The Executioners are stripped of the WWWF Tag Team title for using a third Executioner (Nikolai Volkoff wearing a mask) in a title defence against Chief Jay Strongbow and Billy White Wolf in Hamburg, Pennsylvania :*22 - Superstar Billy Graham wins the NWA Florida title from Dusty Rhodes in West Palm Beach, Florida :*28 - Blackjack Mulligan regains the NWA Mid-Atlantic United States title from Paul Jones in Charlotte (WWE, which claims this title's history for its WWE United States Championship, does not recognize this title change) December :*7 - Chief Jay Strongbow and Billy White Wolf win the vacant WWWF Tag Team title by defeating The Executioners and Tor Kamata and Nikolai Volkoff in a three-team tournament in Philadelphia :*9 - Paul Jones regains the NWA Mid-Atlantic United States title from Blackjack Mulligan in Winston-Salem, North Carolina (WWE does not recognize this title change) :*13 - Don Leo Jonathan wins the NWA Pacific Coast title from John Quinn in Vancouver :*15 - Blackjack Mulligan regains the NWA Mid-Atlantic United States title from Paul Jones in Raleigh :*26 - Ric Flair and Greg Valentine win the NWA Mid-Atlantic World Tag Team title from the Minnesota Wrecking Crew in Greensboro; The Sheik regains the NWA Toronto United States title from Thunderbolt Patterson in Toronto :*27 - Wahoo McDaniel regains the NWA Mid-Atlantic title from Ric Flair in Richmond, Virginia :*28 - Jesse Ventura wins the NWA Pacific Northwest title (opponent unknown; approximate date) See also Category:Wrestling Years